SUPPORT

Topeka  Susan Kennard, frustrated that the city of Lawrence couldn't compel her mobile home park landlord to provide basic water service this winter, asked a legislative committee for help.

"By far, we don't earn $40,000 to $50,000 a year or own nice houses. That doesn't mean we're any less important," said Kennard, president of Green Acres Mobile Home Park Tenants' Assn. and a resident of the park at 1045 E. 23rd.

Kennard and three other Lawrence residents testified Monday before the House Judiciary Committee in support of a bill that would establish the Mobile Home Park Landlord and Tenant Act.

The proposed act, which drew no testimony from opponents, would address the void that exists for mobile home lot renters under laws governing landlord-tenant relationships in Kansas.

Rep. Bill Roy Jr., D-Topeka, a primary sponsor, said mobile home renters are covered under the Kansas Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, but mobile home lot renters are not.

THE MEASURE would establish a set of rules for resolving disputes between mobile home park operators and lot renters. The act would benefit people throughout the state, he said.